Would you like your story published in Best magazine?

Thanks to Christine Sutton for sending me this extract from a recent issue of Best magazine. Sadly they've not reinstated their regular fiction slot, but they are running another competition for a short story to be published in the magazine. The prize is £500.

If you click on the image, you should be able to get an unobstructed view of all the t&cs.

A real shame (updated)

Don't click this link, unless you're prepared for bad news.

If you'd be disappointed by this news, you may want to consider taking out a subscription to a magazine you'd like to continue in business.

Updated 24/4/20 Lucy Chricton has asked me to include this link, to help explain the situation to The Weekly News writers.

Over To You

What's happening in Womag land?

Are you researching, writing, subbing? Had any acceptances or rejections? Any other news?

Do you have tips to share, questions to ask, or suggestions for this blog?

Feel free to use the photo as a picture prompt. (I'd actually picked this one out before I knew we'd still be in lockdown, but it does seem very apt.) If you'd like other writing prompts, short exercises and story/scene suggestions then you might find this book useful. And see yesterday's post if you're interested in reading one of my novels for just 99p (99c).

This morning I recieved a copy of scandinavian magazine Hemmets, containing one of my stories – but I have no idea which one. Can anyone tell me what it's about? 

I confess ...

... this post has nothing to do with womag writing (except perhaps that I'm writing it).

My novel Leave Nothing But Footprints is a romance about a couple of photographers who go off in a campervan to Wales. They walk up mountains and along the coast, enjoy the scenery and wildlife – just what I'd be doing for real if I could.

If you enjoy my short stories then you'll like this book too. Leave Nothing But Footprints is available to download for the discounted price of 99p (99c) for the next week.

Submitting fiction to The People's Friend

Lucy Crichton, fiction editor at The People's Friend, has asked me to share the following on this blog – 

The People’s Friend team are working from home, during the lock down period. The most up-to-date guidelines can be found on our website - https://www.thepeoplesfriend.co.uk/2020/03/23/a-message-about-submissions/ and https://www.thepeoplesfriend.co.uk/2020/04/01/your-submission-questions-answered/

In essence - published “Friend” authors, please contact your editor in the first instance, before submitting by email.

Unpublished “Friend” authors, please continue to submit by post.

As the situation is changing daily, please continue to check in to the website for the most up-to-date news.

I'm sure we're all grateful to the team for adapting their working procedures and keeping the magazine going during the outbreak. No doubt reading The People's Friend is a huge source of comfort to many readers at the moment.

Magazine subscriptions

Thanks to Douglas McPherson (who writes for womags under the pen name of Julia Douglas) for this topical guest post.

Just a word on the importance of magazine subscriptions during the lockdown.

The closure of WH Smith has hit all magazine sales, including the womags. And while they're doing everything they can to keep going, we writers can help them to survive and keep buying our stories by encouraging everyone to take out subscriptions.

There are some great deals available, such as DC Thomson offering 13 issues of My Weekly or People's Friend for just £4 (about 31p per issue, delivered to your door).

To protect our incomes during this time and going forward, I think we all have a part to play in encouraging friends, family and social media followers to switch to subscriptions or digital issues (which can be bought issue by issue).

Remember, we don't know how long the shops will be shut or whether lock downs will become a regular future occurrence, so the less dependent that magazines are on retail sales the more secure they will be.

This applies to all magazines and especially to titles more commonly found in Smiths etc than supermarkets. Some monthlies have entire print runs shuttered up behind the closed doors of Smiths that will never be sold.

I hope you can all help to raise awareness of this issue and how we can all help.